From kindergarten to
college, a record number of students will flood U.S. classrooms this fall,
according to projections from the Department of Education.

Projections of Education Statistics to
2011, released August 17, 2001, by
the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics
estimates 53.1 million students will enter K-12 classrooms this fall, while 15.3 million
students are expected to enroll in colleges and universities.

"While school enrollment is increasing at all levels, families,
educators and policymakers must focus on improving the quality of the education
being offered to our growing population of students," said U.S. Secretary
of Education Rod Paige. "Demographic and other factors control the number
of students who participate in our education system each year, but through
common-sense reforms for our schools, we can do a great deal to increase the
number of students who will receive a quality education. President Bush's No
Child Left Behind plan for reforming our education system has challenged us to
focus on results and improving the schools that have left too many of our
children behind by failing to prepare them for the future."

The report goes on to project elementary and secondary school enrollment
increasing to 53.4 million by 2005, an then decreasing slightly by the end of
the decade. College enrollment, however, is expected to climb steadily through
the decade, reaching 17.7 million by 2011.

Regionally, elementary and secondary school enrollment will vary considerably
this decade. States in the West and South should see increases of about 8 and 1
percent respectively, but declines by 3 percent in the Midwest and 4
percent in the Northeast are projected.

High School: Enrollment in public and private high schools should
reach 2.8 million by 2002, growing to 3.1 million in 2011.

College: Growth in high school enrollment will result in growing
college attendance reaching 16.3 million students by 2005, about 1 million
higher than in 2001. By 2011, 17.7 million students are expected in U.S. college
campuses. A record 1,227,000 students are expected to receive bachelor's degrees during
the 2001- 02 academic year. In addition, 569,000 students are expected to earn
associate degrees, 432,000 will earn master's degrees and about 47,000 will earn
doctor's degrees. The numbers of students earning degrees at all levels are
expected to rise between 2001-02 and 2010-11. The number of bachelor's degrees
is expected to reach a peak of 1,392,000 in 2010-11, reflecting an increase of
13 percent compared to 2001-02.

Federal Expenditures for Public Schools:

Expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools in 2001-02 are
expected to total about $354 billion or about $7,487 per student. Based on
various assumptions, per student spending is projected to increase about 24
percent in constant dollars between 2001-02 and 2010-11.

"In 1867 Congress created the first Department of Education with a
mission to collect and distribute information about the condition and progress
of education in America," stated Education Secretary Paige. "That remains a central mission
of today's Education Department. This 30th edition of the projections report
continues a valuable tradition and helps us to understand the shape of our
student population for the years to come".